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Committee for a Library in the Courthouse

Image(s): 

 

Description

The Committee for a Library in the Courthouse was focused on saving the Jefferson Market Courthouse from demolition and converting the building into a branch of the New York Public Library.

 

Key Dates in Preservation Activity

1967 - Jefferson Market Courthouse reopened to the public as a branch of the New York Public Library
December 22, 1977 - Jefferson Market Courthouse designated a National Historic Landmark

 

History

The Committee for a Library in the Courthouse was created in 1961 following the success of the Committee to Get the Clock on Jefferson Market Courthouse Started. While preserving the Courthouse building was always the intention of the clock committee, this objective came to the forefront once Village residents decided on a use for the structure. By early 1961, with the help of Stanley Tankel and Robert Weinberg, the New York Public Library adopted the idea of using the building1. With the backing of the library, the Village committee, led by Margot Gayle and Philip Wittenberg, went to work developing a preservation plan for the old Courthouse. Villagers were eager to rally around the use of the space as a library because it served "the dual purpose of preserving a historic landmark and providing needed cultural facilities2."

 

Involvement with Preservation Campaigns

The Committee for a Library in the Courthouse was responsible for spearheading the campaign to preserve the Jefferson Market Courthouse in the early 1960s.
Members of the Committee for a Library in the Courthouse worked to preserve the building, which they saw as a Greenwich Village landmark. Margot Gayle described the building as "a picturesque and colorful old thing" that residents "had taken for granted3."
Preserving the building meant preserving the character of the neighborhood; to this end, committee members began a grassroots campaign. Meetings were held in the home of committee chairman Philip Wittenberg and sought to include anyone interested in the building4. The members then used their political connections to call attention to the cause, including various "night letter" telegrams sent directly to the office of the mayor.
Once the committee began to receive attention, the board worked to build its ranks, attracting notable Village residents such as Maurice Evans, Lewis Mumford, and e.e. cummings5. With growing support, the committee showed its strength in numbers through public hearings and letters to city officials6. The campaign proved effective, and on August 23, 1961, Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. publicly backed the plan for a library in the courthouse7.
Following the decision from the mayor, Giorgio Cavaglieri, an architect who had worked with the committee, retrofitted the building for use as a library8. In 1967, the Jefferson Market Courthouse was reopened to the public as a branch of the New York Public Library.
 

 

Archives, Personal files, and Ephemura

Friends of Cast Iron Papers
National Trust for Historic Preservation Library Collection
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742

Margot Gayle Photo Collection
New York Preservation Archive Project
174 East 80th Street
New York, NY 10075
Tel:(212)988-8379
Email: info@nypap.org

Oral History
Hansen, Laura. Interview with Margot Gayle. July 23, 1996. The Greenwich Village Preservation Archive and Oral History Project at the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. http://www.gvshp.org/gvshp/resources/doc/gayletranscript.pdf
Hosmer, Charles. Interview with Margot Gayle.
Under the auspices of the Eastern National Park and Monument Association. June 23, 1982. University of Maryland Libraries Collection.
Wood, Anthony C. Interview with Margot Gayle. April 26, 1984. The New York Preservation Archive Project Collection.

  • 1. Anthony C. Wood. Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Protect A City’s Landmarks. (New York: Routledge, 2007). Page 262.
  • 2. "'Villagers Fight to Save Building,'" New York Times, February 19, 1961.
  • 3. Hosmer, Charles B. Interview with Margot Gayle. Under the auspices of the Eastern National Park and Monument Association. June 23, 1982. University of Maryland Libraries Collection.
  • 4. Stanley Tankel & Margot Gayle to “Friend of the Courthouse,” 9 February 1961. From the Greenwich Village Preservation Archive and Oral History Project. Margot Gayle folder.
  • 5. “The Return of Old Jeff,” Progressive Architecture, October 1967, 175-178.
  • 6. Margot Gayle to “Friend of a Library in the Courthouse,” 30 August 1961. From the Greenwich Village Preservation Archive and Oral History Project. Margot Gayle folder.
  • 7. City of New York, Office of the Mayor, “Mayor Wagner Backs Jefferson Market Courthouse For a Library,” press release, August 23, 1961.
  • 8. "The Return of Old Jeff," Progressive Architecture.