Friday, March 31, 2023 – OUR LIGHTHOUSE IS PART OF AN EXCLUSIVE GROUP OF AWARD WINNERS
FROM THE ARCHIVES
FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2023
ISSUE 953
LUCY MOSES AWARD WINNERS
PART 1
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“DOLLARS FOR DAFFODILS”
UPDATE:
OUR FIRST DONATIONS HAVE ARRIVED
THANK YOU TO RACHEL MAINES AND GLORIA, MARK HERMAN, CAROLINE CAVALLI, MR. & MRS. RICHARD MEYER, NANCY BROWN, ARLENE &STEVE BESSENOFF, MARIE EWALD & DAVID DANZIG, BARRY & JUDY SCHNEIDER, & MICHELLE ROY, ARON EISENPRESIS, TANYA MORRISETT, MATTHIAS ALTWICKER, JUDY CONNORTON, THOM HEYER, STEPHEN QUANDT, QING XUN & ANNONYMOUS FOR THEIR DONATIONS.
WE ARE WAITING TO ADD YOUR NAME TO OUR DONOR LIST
We need your help this spring to help us restore and enhance our garden.
Our goal is $2000.00 for a complete restoration of soil, drainage, plantings and fencing.
We will update donations daily. We will list our donors.
Join us in making our garden thrive again.
ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE
TO MAKE YOUR DONATION: https://rihs.us/donation/
TO MAKE YOUR DONATION BY CHECK: R.I.H.S., 531 MAIN STREET, #1704. NY NY 10044
The Lucy G. Moses Awards are the Conservancy’s highest honors for outstanding preservation efforts, named for a dedicated New Yorker whose generosity benefited the City for more than 50 years.
Winners of the “Oscars of Preservation” have been announced and they feature a wide variety of historic structures across New York City. The Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award is the highest honor for excellence in preservation awarded by The New York Landmarks Conservancy. Every year the Conservancy recognizes outstanding contributions to the city from individuals, organizations, and building owners. Here, we take a look at the winners of this year’s preservation award, including a Manhattan armory, a historic lighthouse, stunning churches, and more!
In addition to the buildings being honored, Laurie Beckelman, former Chair of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, will receive the 2023 Public Leadership in Preservation Award. John J. (Jack) Kerr, Jr., attorney, will receive the Preservation Leadership Award in honor of his role in preservation’s most significant legal decisions, and for his work with many nonprofit organizations, including the Conservancy, where he served as Board Chair. Winners will be recognized at the Awards Ceremony on April 19th at 6:00 pm at Saint Bartholomew’s Church in Manhattan. You can register for tickets to attend the event here.
1. Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, Lighthouse Park
Photo by Thomas Fenniman
In 1872, the Blackwell’s Island Lighthouse was constructed at the northern tip of the island now known as Roosevelt Island. The beacon was put in place to aid ships navigating the treacherous rocky waters of the East River. It was designed by James Renwick, Jr., architect of the Smallpox Hospital on the island. The 50-foot tall, octagonal lighthouse is made of stone quarried right from the island by inmates of the Penitentiary which once stood on Blackwell’s.
The lighthouse ceased operations in the 1940s. Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, a New York State Authority, led the restoration of the lighthouse, which started in 2021. Work done to the lighthouse entailed repairing the gneiss stone façade, replacing the lantern, and adding colorful architectural lighting. Discover more historic lighthouses of New York here!
2. Pier 57, Manhattan
Photo Courtesy of Higgins Quasebarth & Partners, LLC
Pier 57 has been shuttered for twenty years but will re-open this weekend! The pier that stands today was built in 1952 as a replacement for the terminal of the Grace Line which had burnt down in 1947. It was later used as a Hudson Pier Depot for the New York City Transit Authority, before closing in 2003.
Now, the pier building has been renovated as a mixed-use waterfront property that houses a new public rooftop park, office space, a performance venue, a food market, classrooms, and community spaces. The restoration has been a collaborative effort between the Hudson River Park Trust, RXR, Young Woo & Associates, and the pier’s tenants, Google, City Winery, Jamestown, and the James Beard Foundation. When the new facilities open in April 2023, it will mark the first time the general public will get to make use of this once-vacant structure.
3. New York State Pavilion, Queens
Photo by Sybil Young/NYC Parks
The New York State Pavilion is one of the few structures that survived from the 1964-65 World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens. Designed by noted architect Philip Johnson, there was much debate over what to do with the pavilion once the fair had closed and it was at risk of demolition.
The New York State Pavilion project is being recognized for the work that has recently gone into preserving the existing structures of the pavilion including the Tent of Tomorrow and the Astro View Observation Towers. The $24 million restoration project has included the stabilization of the towers and the installation of architectural lighting at the towers and Tent of Tomorrow. These improvements are intended to immediately enhance the Pavilion now, to make future maintenance and access easier, and to encourage funding for future projects.
4. Castle Clinton National Monument, Manhattan
Photo by John G. Waite Associates, Architects
| Castle Clinton is a prime example of successful adaptive reuse in New York City. Since it was originally constructed as Fort Clinton in 1811, the structure has evolved with the changing city around it. Its original purpose was to defend from British invasion in 1812, and in 1855 it became the nation’s first federal immigration station, processing over 8 million people. It has also served as a beer garden, theater, and public aquarium.Today, Castle Clinton serves as the National Park Service (NPS) ticket office for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. More than 3 million visitors pass through annually. The preservation project being awarded has carefully restored the fort’s historic brownstone walls, fortifying the Castle for generations to come. |
| TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW |
FRIDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
WE WILL BE AWAY FOR A FEW DAYS
BELOW ARE PHOTOS FROM THE RIHS RECEIVING
A LUCY MOSES AWARD IN 2008 FROM PEG BREEN OF THE NY LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY.
THURSDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
GARDEN OF COLER LONG TERM CARE WITH MAGNOLIAS IN FULL BLOOM YESTERDAY
THOM HEYER, CHRISTINA DELFICO, NINA LUBLIN, ALEXIS VILLAFANE ALL GOT IT RIGHT!
Text by Judith Berdy
Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website
Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
NEW YORK LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
Copyright © 2022 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com
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