BRONX LANDMARK HONORED AT NEW YORK LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY “PRESERVATION OSCARS”

Here is news on a Bronx landmark. Kudos to our boroughs long and often unknown history.

Gregory

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22^nd Annual Lucy G. Moses Award Recipients include Edgar Allan Poe Cottage in the Bronx

The New York Landmarks Conservancy has announced the winners of the 22^nd Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards including the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage to be recognized at the Ceremony taking place on April 25, 2012 at the New-York Historical Society, one of the award winners. Named after distinguished philanthropist Lucy G. Moses, the coveted awards, called the “Preservation Oscars,” laud outstanding preservation efforts by individuals and projects.

This year’s Lucy G. Moses Award recipients include individuals who are distinguished leaders in the field of preservation and buildings from many eras, with architecture that tells the story of New York. John Belle, Founding Partner of Beyer, Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP, will receive the Preservation Leadership Award for his role as one of the country’s leading preservation architects. New York City Council Members, The Honorable Brad Lander and The Honorable Steve Levin, will receive the Public Leadership Award for facing down opposition and voting on the merits to affirm the designation of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District in Brooklyn.

The Lucy G. Moses Award project recipients are:

· 58 Hicks Street, Brooklyn

· Banner Building, 648 Broadway

· Brown Memorial Baptist Church, Brooklyn

· Central Park Police Precinct

· New York City Center

· Hamilton Grange National Memorial, Harlem

· New-York Historical Society

· Newtown High School, Queens

· Edgar Allan Poe Cottage, Bronx

· Rod Rodgers & Duo Multicultural Arts Center, 62 East Fourth Street

· St. Patrick’s Cathedral Rectory

· TWA Terminal, Queens

“The awards are a celebration of outstanding restoration projects throughout the city as well as some extraordinary individuals,” said Peg Breen, President of The New York Landmarks Conservancy. “The awards are a perfect reminder that preservation creates local jobs and encourages tourism. It’s a joyous evening as we salute great work and great people.”

The Poe Cottage was the home to Edgar Allan Poe and his family from 1846 to 1848. When the 1812 farmhouse was built, the area was known as the village of Fordham. The modest cottage was typical for its era, with a clapboard and shingle exterior and five-room floor plan. During Poe’s years there, he wrote some of his best-known works, such as “Annabel Lee” and “Eureka.”

The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a New York City Landmark, is located in Poe Park between Knightsbridge Road and the Grand Concourse. The original location was about a block further south, and across the street. It has been moved twice, first in 1895 when Knightsbridge Road was widened, and then in 1913 to become the centerpiece of Poe Park, which had been built to create an appropriate setting for the Cottage.

Poe Cottage is one of the houses that make up the collection of the Historic House Trust of New York City. The Cottage is owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and operated as a museum by the Bronx County Historical Society. The 2011 renovation project was partially funded through a Save America’s Treasures Grant.

The goals of the project included sealing the Cottage’s exterior, stabilizing the interior finishes, and treating failing conditions throughout the structure. Prior to the restoration, the Cottage’s collection was cataloged and removed. Full plaster and paint analyses were performed and shingles on the rear and side elevations were removed. With the walls opened up, structural components were examined, revealing the need for urgent repairs to make the Cottage structurally sound. Subsequent work included stripping exterior and interior paint, conservation and replacement of interior plaster, restoration of the window sashes, and installation of replacement shingles.

Plans for the Park include a completed Poe Park Visitor’s Center, and the redesign of the landscape plan for the northern portion of the park. The result will be a historic structure and landscape that will contribute to the ongoing revitalization of this diverse neighborhood and the Bronx as a whole.

About the Awards:

The Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards are The New York Landmarks Conservancy’s highest honors for outstanding preservation efforts. They are named for Lucy Goldschmidt Moses, a dedicated New Yorker whose generosity benefited the City for over 50 years. Mrs. Moses and her husband, attorney Henry L. Moses, shared a wide range of philanthropic interests. This year marks the 22^nd presentation of the Awards, which have recognized hundreds of individuals, organizations, architects, crafts people and building owners for their extraordinary contributions to preserving the City.

About the Landmarks Conservancy:

The New York Landmarks Conservancy has been at the forefront of efforts to preserve, restore, and reuseNew York City’s wonderful architectural legacy for nearly 40 years. Since its founding, the Conservancy has loaned and granted more than $36 million and provided countless hours of pro bono technical advice to building owners, both non-profit organizations and individuals. The Conservancy’s work has saved more than a thousand buildings across the City and State, preserving the character of New York for future generations.

By saving homes, community cultural and religious sites, and preserving neighborhoods, the Conservancy enhances New York’s quality of life and safeguards the City’s character for future generations. Hailed as a national model of enlightened and effective preservation, the Conservancy goes beyond the expected and sets new standards for the conservation of treasured landmarks, revitalizing architecturally significant structures and contributing to a “greener” City.

For more information, please visit www.nylandmarks.org.