Action Group for Better Architecture in New York

Sometimes listed as AGBANY.

Description

The Action Group for Better Architecture in New York was formed to advance the public purposes of architecture and planning. AGBANY's aims included preservation and advocacy. Its first and primary cause was the preservation of McKim, Mead & White's Pennsylvania Station.

Key Dates in Preservation Activity

August 2, 1962 - Protest in front of Pennsylvania Station.

History

In the face of the impending demolition of McKim, Mead and White's Pennsylvania Station in 1962, a group of young architects (mostly in their twenties) and their friends organized to prevent the loss of treasured New York architecture1. The first executive committee included: Diana Kirsch (secretary), Costas Machlouzarides (treasurer), and Norval White (chair2. Others Members included Jeffrey Aronin, Peter Samton, James Burne, Elliot Willensky, Jay Fleishman, and Joan and Jordan Gruzen3. AGBANY also counted more established preservation voices such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Fannie Hurst (advisory committee), and Robert Weinberg amongst its ranks. Ray Rubinow, of Greenwich Village and Carnegie Hall preservation battles, sat on the board of directors and brought organizational skills and political experience to the group4. Phillip Johnson, Mies van der Rohe’s disciple and iconic American Modernist, was also a member of the organization5.

Involvement with Preservation Campaigns

AGBANY brought the fight to save Pennsylvania Station onto the streets and into the media. Though other preservation and architectural interest groups were not in favor of the demolition of the station, AGBANY led the active opposition to it, and garnered the media's attention6.
- August 2, 1962, 5-7 p.m. - AGBANY held a protest outside Pennsylvania Station's main entrance on Seventh Avenue. AGBANY alerted the media to the planned protest beforehand. The group took out an ad in the New York Times asking New Yorkers to join them in a "peaceful demonstration of affection for this great and threatened building." That same day, AGBANY held a press conference at the Statler-Hilton Hotel across the street from the station.7. Between 150 and 500 marchers were reported to have attended the protest. Notably among them were Ray Rubinow, Jane Jacobs, and architect Phillip Johnson8.
- August 3, 1962 - AGBANY urged Mayor Wagner to call for a report from the Landmarks Preservation Commission regarding the architectural and historical importance of Penn Station9.
- At AGBANY’s request, City Council member Edward Sadowsky put forward a resolution in the New York City Council "urging the mayor of the city of New York to request the landmarks preservation commission for an opinion on the desirability of preserving Pennsylvania Station" 10.
- AGBANY strategically sought to make "the preservation of our heritage" an issue in the forthcoming political campaign in which McNeil Mitchell, a friend to preservation, was running against Alice Sachs, a Democratic-Liberal who had proposed the adaptive re-use of Penn Station as a museum of science, technology and industry11.
- AGBANY had only a slim chance of saving Penn Station, but since the proposed Madison Square Garden would seat more than 2,500 people, the project required a zoning variance. AGBANY begged the City Planning Commission to withhold the variance, or at least delay the project while studies could be done regarding the structure’s architectural and historical significance12.
- September 1962 - AGBANY held a meeting with Mayor Wagner. Among those in attendance were Norval White, Ray Rubinow, L. Bancel La Farge, Municipal Art Society’s President Morris Ketchum, Jr. and president of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Frederick J. Woodbridge13.
- Ultimately, AGBANY's efforts to save Pennsylvania Station were not enough to overcome development pressures. Demolition of the building began in August of 196314.
August 1964 - McKim, Mead and White’s 1928 Savoy Plaza Hotel was going to be demolished and replaced by a 48-story corporate headquarters for General Motors15.
- In protest against the demolition, AGBANY’s Elliot Willensky, led a "funeral march." Placards featured pointed slogans such as "Landmarks Preservation Weak16.

Archives, Personal files, and Ephemera

New York Preservation Archive Project
174 East 80th Street
New York, NY 10075
Tel: (212)988-8379
Fax: (212)537-5571
www.nypap.org

Robert F. Wagner Papers
New York City Municipal Archive
31 Chambers Street, Room 103
New York, NY 10007
(212) NEW-YORK

• 1. Jeffrey Ellis Aronin to Norval White, August 9, 1962, Anthony C. Wood Archive.
  
• 2. Gray, Christopher, "A 1960’s Protest that Tried to Save A Piece of the Past." New York Times. 20 May 2001.
  
• 3. Resolutions for Unincorporated Club, Society or Association, Irving Trust Company, Action Group for Better Architecture, July 23, 1962, Anthony C. Wood Archive.
  
• 4. Wood, Anthony C. Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Protect A City's Landmarks. New York: Routledge, 2007. 297.
  
• 5. Gilmartin, Gregory F., Shaping the City: New York and the Municipal Art Society. New York: Clarkson Potter, 1994. 370.
• 6. Plosky, Eric J. "The Fall and Rise of Pennsylvania Station; Changing Attitudes Toward Historic Preservation in New York City." Unpublished dissertation. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, February 2000.
  
• 7. "Save Our City." New York Times. 2 Aug 1962.
  
• 8. Wood, 298.
  
• 9. Hailey, Foster. "Architects Fight Penn Station Plan." New York Times. 3 Aug 1962.
  
• 10. Resolution 300, The Committee on City Affairs, August 21, 1962. Robert F. Wagner Papers, New York City Municipal Archive
• 11. "Asks Museum in Penn Station." World Telegram. 2 Aug 1962
• 12. Gilmartin, 370.
  
• 13. "Wagner Confers on Penn Station." New York Times. 11 Sept 1962
• 14. Gilmartin, 371
• 15. Fowler, Glenn. "48-Story Tower to Rise on Savoy Plaza Site." New York Times. 16 Dec 1964
• 16. Ennis, Thomas. "Coming Demise of Savoy Plaza Mourned by Student Marchers." New York Times. 3 Oct 1964