Landmarks for New York

ALAN BURNHAIVI

NEW YORK CITY has come of age; it is now doing
something about its architectural heritage. It has
established a comprehensive and continuing land¬
marks preservation program. Local Law 46 of 1965 set up a
Landmarks Preservation Commission with city-wide respon¬
sibilities, and the broad scope of this New York City program
sets an important precedent for other American cities. The
creation of this new city agency represents a major step forward
as most other cities set up their preservation programs to pro¬
tect only a few specific areas.

The Commission is a part of the Office of the Mayor, and it
has the enthusiastic support of Mayor Lindsay. Here in New
York we have a Commission of eleven non-salaried members,
assisted by a paid staff, to designate landmarks and historic dis¬
tricts in all the five boroughs.

Today the Landmarks Preser\'ation Commission is waging a
life and death struggle over lawsuits which have been brought
against it. Here will be tested whether certain buildings are ar¬
chitecturally and historically notable and whether Local Law 46
is constitutional.

The test has already begiin, an exciting chapter in the history
of preservation with the case of the Manhattan Club—the
splendid French Second Empire mansion which the sportsman
millionaire Leonard Jerome built on Madison Square at the time
of the Civil War. Leonard Jerome, quite aside from his own bril¬
liant career, would be famous as the father of Jennie Jerome,
the mother of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Jennie Jerome
lived in the house as a child and later inherited it and owned it
until 1903.

The Manhattan Club, after its building was officially desig¬
nated a landmark, saw fit to bring suit against the Landmarks