Saving Place

The destruction of McKim Mead & White's monumental Penn Station in the mid-1960s was the catalyst for the adoption of the "Landmarks Law," which established the parameters for protecting and preserving buildings and places that represent New York City's cultural, social, economic, political, and architectural history. Today there are more than 31,000 landmark properties in New York City, most of which are located in 111 historic districts in all five boroughs. The total number of protected sites also includes 1,338 individual landmark buildings, 117 interior landmarks and 10 scenic landmarks. How these sites were chosen, how landmarking has impacted the fabric of the city, and what the future holds are the subject of Saving Place. The story unfolds in essays by notable New Yorkers and preservationists: Robert A. M. Stern, Francoise Bollack, Andrew S. Dolkart, Anthony C. Wood, Claudette Brady, and Adele Chatfield-Taylor. Complementing the text is a specially commissioned portfolio of views of selected historic districts and landmark buildings by the distinguished Dutch architectural photographer Iwan Baan.