Edward Steese

Sometimes listed as "Ed" Steese.

Biography

Edward Steese was born in Scarsdale, New York, in 1902 to Mrs. Maude Heaton Steese and Dr. Edward Sturtevant Steese1. He attended Princeton University from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Art and Archeology in 1924 and a master's degree in Architecture in 1927.

Upon graduating, Steese joined the architecture firm of Carrere & Hastings (New York, New York) where he became chief designer in 19272.

Following the death of Thomas Hastings, Steese partnered with architect Lawrence G. Noyes to take over the firm under the name Noyes & Steese from 1930 until 1932. Steese went into private practice in New York in 1932 until he retired in 19603.

Over the years, Steese donated nearly 500 architectural drawings, plans and pertinent architectural items of Carrere & Hastings to Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library at Columbia University4.

During World War I, Steese was deputy chief, Aircraft Section, of the Construction Division of the War Production Board (WPB). He also served as the chairman of Volunteer Services, Artists-for-Victory for which he received a Certificate of Merit in 19515.

In addition, Steese was an accomplished author and poet. Among his publications were Storm in Harvest and Other Poems (1929), Spring Night: A Review of Youth (1927), Ephemerae: Poems of Edward Steese (1952) and First Snow (1954). He was also the editor of A Princeton Anthology (1925) and Poems of Neilson Abeel (1951).

Edward Steese was instrumental in the 1950's movement to take inventory of New York's historic structures and build a constituency for historic preservation. His committee's development of an index of structures worthy of preservation fostered public awareness and provided the intellectual capital that eventually drove the designation process6.

Steese died in 1981 at his home in Scarsdale at the age of 78.

Offices Held

• Member, New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, 1941 - 1956
• Archivist, Century Association, 1963 - 1971
• Chairman, Committee on Historic Architecture, Municipal Arts Society, 1951 - 1956
• Vice President, Municipal Arts Society, 1950 - 1953

Involvement in Preservation Campaigns and Related Activities

New York Landmarks: An Index of Architecturally Historic Structures in New York City- In September of 1951 Steese, as Chairman of the Municipal Art Society's Committee on Historic Architecture, proposed the compilation of a comprehensive list of New York's architecturally significant buildings worthy of preservation as a collaborative effort along with the New York chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians. Steese partnered with James Van Derpool (President of the allied chapter), in updating and expanding Talbot Hamlin's Tentative List of Old Buildings of Manhattan Built in 1865 or Earlier, and Worthy of Preservation, Annotated by Talbot Hamln which was developed almost ten years earlier in 19427.

- Steese and his committee greatly expanded upon Hamlin's preliminary list. They broadened their scope from "buildings" to architecturally significant "sites", "monuments" and "structures", including bridges, dwellings, commercial buildings and miscellaneous structures8. They also developed a coding system explaining why each nomination was listed. Reasons included architectural importance, historical interest, sculpture incorporated into the structure, stained glass, paintings and mosaics9.

- The roster was circulated as a mimeographed booklet with a questionnaire to the members of both the Municipal Art Society and the Society for Architectural Historians as well as libraries, historical societies, architectural firms and other interested parties, for additional nominations and comments10; resulting in an ever-expanding Master Card Index11.

- In October 1953, the list was submitted as a Final Index of Architecturally Historic Buildings in New York City built before World War I in which the roster was divided into three categories: (1) National Importance to be Preserved at all Costs, (2) Great Local or Regional Importance, and (III) Buildings of Great Interest Listed for Protection.

- In January 1957, a second edition, New York Landmarks: Index of Architecturally Historic Structures in New York City expanded to 1930 with an introduction by Steese was published by the Municipal Art Society and available to the public.

- Steese's committee's index underwent many subsequent editions, finally published as the hard-covered New York Landmarks by Alan Burnham in 1963, appropriately dedicated to Steese.

Thirty New York Buildings Most Worthy of Preservation- An exhibit hosted by the Municipal Art Society in January 1952 in the main lobby of the Museum of the City of New York, consisting of photographs of "some of the most interesting of the 'unprotected buildings'" on Steese's committee's list. The public was invited to vote for the buildings they would like to see preserved12.

Historically Important New York Buildings- An exhibit hosted by the Municipal Art Society in January 1952 in the Pine Room of the Architectural League, New York. The exhibit featured buildings from Steese's committee's list of historical and architectural note that are now fully protected13.

The Monuments of Manhattan- An exhibition hosted by the Municipal Art Society from January - March 1955 at the University Club's College Hall. The exhibition was organized by Steese and curated by Henry Hope Reed based on the list of architecturally historic monuments before the First World War. One-thousand copies of the index were distributed, generating great interest14.

Letters to the Editor- Steese often served as a spokesperson for New York's preservation movement in the form of letters to the Editor of the New York Times, the Herald Tribune as well as articles in the Journal of American Institute of Architects (AIA Journal) and numerous other publications. He was vocal in his protest of the razing of such cultural landmarks as Carnegie Hall15 and the Metropolitan Opera House16 and the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House in in Brooklyn17. Steese was a tireless advocate for legislation protecting the city's landmarks18.

Traditional Architecture- Steese was among a group of early preservationists viscerally opposed to the aesthetics of modern architecture. Steese is famous for his hatred of what he called "megahyaline buildings," his term for "glass-box" buildings which he found to be replacing his beloved traditional architecture at an alarming rate19. He often chided officials and developers for making changes in the New York skyline that he felt "destroyed" or "altered" the historic or architectural quality of the city20.

New York Community Trust Plaque Program- As early as 1955, Steese was in communication with the New York Community Trust regarding the creation of a "Plaque Program" that would mark emblematic examples of the city's historic architecture. The Plaque Program was officially inaugurated in 1957 and based on the research conducted by the Municipal Art Society's Committee on Historic Architecture for the "Index"21.

Archives, Personal files, and Ephemura

• 1. "Mrs. Edward Steese", New York Tmes, October 6, 1961.
• 2. Edward Steese Papers, Manuscript Division, Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library, Princeton University.
• 3. Ibid.
• 4. Ibid.
• 5. Princeton Alumni Weekly: September 21, 1981, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, pg. 20.
• 6. Wood, Anthony, The Past is Never Dead. It is Not Even Past, Keynote Address for "Preserving New York - Then and Now Symposium", Museum of the City of New York, February 23, 2008.
• 7. Wood, Anthony, Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Protect a City's Landmark,New York: Routledge, 2007, page 115.
• 8. Steese to Hamlin, September 30. 1951, Talbot F. Hamlin Collection, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.
• 9. Ibid.
• 10. Gilmartin, Gregory, Shaping the City: New York and the Municipal Art Society, New York: Clarkson Potter Publishers, 1995, page 351.
• 11. Wood, Anthony, Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Protect a City's Landmark,New York: Routledge, 2007, page 118.
• 12. Municipal Art Society Board Meeting Minutes, February 25, 1952, Municipal Art Society of New York Records. Archives of American Art.
• 13. Wood, Anthony, Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Protect a City's Landmark,New York: Routledge, 2007, page 119.
• 14. Municipal Art Society Board Meeting Minutes, January 25, 1955, Municipal Art Society of New York Records. Archives of American Art.
• 15. Steese, Edward, "Letter to the Editor", New York Times, July 23, 1955.
• 16. Steese, Edward, "Letter to the Editor", New York Times, October 22, 1955.
• 17. Municipal Art Society Board Meeting Minutes, May 25 and October 26, 1953, Municipal Art Society of New York Records, Archives of American Art.
• 18. Steese, Edward, "Letter to the Editor", New York Times, April 13, 1955.
• 19. "Edward Steese, 78; A Leader in Efforts to Save Landmarks", New York Times, August 10, 1981.
• 20. "Edward Steese, 78; A Leader in Efforts to Save Landmarks", New York Times, August 10, 1981.
• 21. Municipal Art Society Board Meeting Minutes, April 24, 1955 and October 28, 1957, Municipal Art Society of New York Records, Archives of American Art.