The Art and Architecture of Jewish Affluence: The Synagogues of New York’s Upper West Side
LIVE! Wednesday, May 7, 7-8:15pm at Congregation Rodeph Sholom, 7 West 83rd Street
FREE event! Registration Required.
LW! invites all to a FREE, in-person illustrated lecture by noted historian Dr. Samuel Gruber in honor of LW’s 40th Anniversary as the preservation organization of the Upper West Side.
In the century following World War I, New York City’s Jewish communities sponsored a wealth of Jewish architecture, with many of the large and often ornate synagogues designed by Jewish architects.
Dr. Gruber—a leader in the preservation of historic Jewish sites worldwide—will examine the development and design of approximately a dozen synagogues on the Upper West Side serving all the major branches of Judaism. He’ll explore what the buildings have in common, how they differ, and what role three generations of Jewish architects had in shaping Jewish identity.
Graciously co-sponsored by Congregation Rodeph Sholom.
Meet a Composer at Home
LIVE! Thursday, May 15, 6-7:30 pm at The Dorilton, 171 West 71st Street
Landmark West! invites you to drinks with the extraordinary composer Stefania de Kenessey, whose output ranges from choral and operatic pieces to chamber music and orchestral work. Her music has been played throughout the city, from Carnegie Hall to Lincoln Center, and in 35 countries around the world. (A February performance of a choral masterpiece can be heard and seen on the link below.)
She lives in the Dorilton, one of New York’s finest Beaux Arts buildings, on West 71st Street. It is a Gilded Age individual landmark, notable for its ornate limestone and brick exterior and massive wrought-iron entry gates.
Stefania’s apartment, with its beamed ceilings, original wood paneling, and inlaid parquet floors from 1902, boasts a concert grand piano. We will hear her talk about the apartment and her illustrious career – and perhaps she will play a solo piece for us!
Sacred Sites Weekend: Tour First Church of Christ, Scientist
LIVE! Saturday, May 17, 2:00 pm, Tour A
LIVE! Saturday, May 17th, 3:00 pm, Organ Concert
LIVE! Saturday, May 17th, 3:30 pm, Tour B
LW! partakes in the New York Landmark Conservancy’s Sacred Sites Weekend!
Join LW! and congregant Leanne Mahoney for an intimate tour of the First Church of Christ, Scientist.
Enter off of Central Park West into Frederick R. Comstock’s 1898-1899 Academic Classical granite and marble marvel! See the balcony, sanctuary, reading room, and more, all while being led by a congregant who has taken a leading role in this landmark’s stewardship for years. Come for the first tour and stay for an organ concert, or come for the concert and stay for the second tour. Advanced registration is required.
Rediscovering NYC’s Art Deco Landmarks
Tuesday, May 20, 6-7:00 pm via Zoom
It’s a big year for anniversaries! Learn how three major dates collided to make history: The 100th anniversary of the Paris Exposition, 60 years of the landmarks law, and 40 years of Landmark West!
Art Deco may be the single most recognizable architectural style in New York City, where more than 80 individual Deco buildings have won Landmarks protection, along with dozens more in historic districts.
Acclaimed Art Deco expert and architectural historian, Anthony Robins, traces the extraordinary growth of New York City’s fascination with Art Deco architecture and its rocky road to acceptance in historic preservation circles. He will revisit resounding victories, from rescuing Radio City in the late 1970s to the interiors of the Waldorf-Astoria in 2017. He also highlights major restorations, including the Empire State Building’s lobby, and recount some of the lamentable losses––from Bonwit Teller, demolished in 1980, to the McGraw Hill Building lobby, stripped to the walls in 2021––serving as a reminder that there is still work to be done.
This photo-packed tour gives an up-close look at dazzling Art Deco gems from downtown to the Upper West Side and explores how an exciting new architectural style brought 1920s color, jazz, and landmarks to our streetscapes.
Select Past Events:
2025 Mayoral Candidates Forum with Preservation Organizations
When: [PAST] Monday, March 24, via Zoom
WATCH RECORDING
Landmark West! and fellow preservation organizations from across NYC are hosting a forum via Zoom with Mayoral candidates on Monday, March 24 at 6 pm. This is the ONLY Mayoral candidate forum focused on preservation and development issues, and we strongly urge you to attend — to learn more about the candidates, and to let them know that New Yorkers care about preserving our city and our neighborhoods.
This is one of the most important Mayoral elections in memory. Our city is at a turning point, and powerful forces are pushing unprecedented measures to deregulate development in our city and roll back longstanding landmark and zoning protections. The next occupant of City Hall will shape our city and our neighborhoods for generations.
Holding the Safety Net in San Juan Hill VIDEO
Wednesday, January 25th 6-7pm via Zoom
Please join Landmark West! and architectural historian Jessica Larson in this exploration of the ways in which Black charity and reform initiatives shaped the landscape of San Juan Hill, the community Robert Moses demolished to make way for the Lincoln Center for the Perforning Arts complex, in the early decades of the 20th century. Larson will focus in on the architecture of the buildings constructed to facilitate this social work, and together we will look at how the built environment of San Juan Hill was shaped by community-driven efforts to address poverty and improve the quality of life for the residents. Because charity work was deeply gendered, Larson will emphasize the significance of women to the spatial and welfare programs of the neighborhood.
Speaker Jessica Larson is a Ph.D. candidate in Art and Architectural History at the CUNY Graduate Center. Her dissertation examines the architecture of charitable and reform institutions built in Manhattan for Black aid recipients between the Civil War and World War I, with a focus on how women reformers directed to these designs. She has held fellowships with the American Council of Learned Societies, the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Library of Congress. She has also worked for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Princeton University Art Museum, and the Bruce Museum. Jessica is currently a Fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Museum of American History.
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Looking for VIDEOS of past LW programs? LW! Members have free access HERE with passcode!
Need the passcode? Email us at Landmarkwest@Landmarkwest.org – all recordings are available for free viewing for members
