The Archive Project hosted a special toast to 50 years of the Landmarks Law on April 19^th, exactly 50 years from the day the legislation was signed by Mayor Robert F. Wagner in 1965. Since its groundbreaking passage, the law has successfully provided legal protection for the City’s treasured
buildings and neighborhoods; today over 33,000 special places throughout the City are protected as individual landmarks, interior landmarks, scenic landmarks, or as part of 114 historic districts. As part of the festivities, there was cake, champagne, and a screening of WNET’s Treasures of New York: The Landmarks Preservation Movement, which documents the tireless work of preservationists before and after the passage of the Landmarks Law.

Simeon Bankoff, executive director of the Historic Districts Council, and Brooklyn Heights preservationist Otis Pratt Pearsall, both featured in the documentary, discussed the portrayal of the field in the program, and gave their thoughts on how preservation might evolve over the next 50 years.

Location:
Professor Thom's
219 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10003