New York City's Historic Districts: Origins, Trends, and Current Status

Keywords: New York City, landmarks, historic preservation, memory, placemaking, urban geography
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 11:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 12:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 23

Abstract

Since the passage of enabling legislation in 1965, New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission has protected more than 37,000 landmarked properties. The vast majority of these sites now reside in 151 historic districts, although 1,439 individual landmarks, 120 interior landmarks, and 11 scenic landmarks exist independently. After reviewing the general contours of the city’s official landmarks, this paper focuses on selected historic districts with regard to their original criteria for designation, subsequent evolution, and possible gentrification. While architectural significance has long been of fundamental importance, diverse historical and social identities have played increasingly important roles in landmark designation. While the social history has often been restricted to elites, a notable contemporary trend has recognized broader histories of social classes, races and ethnicities, genders, and sexual identities. Behind their official designations, historic districts usually comprise more inclusive histories and social identities, as illustrated by case studies of the African Burial Ground and the Commons, Greenwich Village, Ladies’ Mile, South Street Seaport, and Tudor City.