This is the story of how the New York Preservation Archive Project was created and its evolution over the past few decades:
The Archive Project was incorporated in 1998, after years of earlier efforts, because insufficient effort was being devoted to preserving preservation’s own history. Memories were frequently lost, lessons from campaign victories and defeats were quickly being forgotten, and personal papers and organizational documents often ended up in dumpsters. To reverse this tide of loss, capture this endangered history, and put it to use, the Archive Project embarked on a variety of strategies, all of which our organization continues to pursue today. More than two decades later the organization has grown to become one of the premier preservation not-for-profits in New York City, and the go-to source of all things related to preservation history.
In 1983, Anthony C. Wood received a $5,000 grant for “Preserving Preservation’s Past,” a project to conduct interviews with preservation pioneers Geoffrey Platt, Harmon Goldstone, Ruth Wittenberg, Margot Gayle, and Brendan Gill.
Intended to be a six-month project, this initiative eventually inspired Wood to found the New York Preservation Archive Project; in the grant report is the first mention of an idea to create a preservation-related archive. This pilot project also led to additional oral history interviews and helped influence discussion for the 20th anniversary celebration of New York City’s Landmarks Law in 1985. In 1987, three of Wood’s interviews were published in Village Views: those of New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Chairs Geoffrey Platt and Harmon Goldstone, and Commissioner Adolf Plazcek.
Over the subsequent years Wood published articles and gave lectures advocating for preserving the history of the preservation movement, continued to work to establish a preservation archive, and persisted in capturing oral histories with preservation leaders. In 1993, the J. M. Kaplan Fund awarded a grant to the Historic Districts Council to help officially launch the New York Preservation Archive Project.
In one of its first major collaborations, the Archive Project teamed up with the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) in 1995 for a symposium entitled “The Greenwich Village Historic District: How It Came To Be, What It Has Become, and Where It is Going.” This symposium was part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Landmarks Law, the 25th anniversary of the Greenwich Village Historic District, and the 15th anniversary of GVSHP. This symposium inspired an initiative to capture interviews with such Village preservation figures as Verna Small, Doris Diether, Margot Gayle, Edith Lyons, Claire Tankel, Anthony Dapolito, Norman Redlich, Harold Edelman, and Jane Jacobs.
To promote this inspirational work, in 1996 the Archive Project supported GVSHP with a small grant to help launch its own preservation archive and an official oral history program. Through celebratory launches, illustrated lectures seminars, and publications, the success of GVSHP’s work preserving the neighborhood’s preservation history was in turn used to inspire other small preservation-related organizations to do the same.
The New York Preservation Archive Project was officially incorporated as a not-for-profit organization on January 28, 1998.
That June, its first meeting was held with founding directors Anthony C. Wood, Eric Allison, Vicki Weiner, and Dorothy Miner. Over the next several years the Archive Project continued to respond to the loss of the recorded history of New York’s nationally-significant historic preservation movement. With the help of a fellowship sponsored by the Kress Foundation the organization documented and assisted in the preservation of important archives, and educated the public about the existence of these papers and their incomparable value. The organization identified individuals and organizations that have made vital contributions to New York preservation’s history and attempted to secure the future of their papers through education and archival assistance. The Archive Project also continued to conduct oral histories with those who were directly involved in much of the City’s groundbreaking legislation and grassroots activism. And it sponsored public programs, exhibitions, screenings, and lectures designed to broaden awareness of the history of the New York preservation movement and emphasize the use of archives in researching topics in the field. Special research projects were also undertaken. One related to architect and urban activist Robert C. Weinberg. Another research project eventually became Anthony C. Wood’s book Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Preserve a City’s Landmarks (published in 2007).
Launched in December 2003 through a grant from the New York Community Trust (NYCT), the Archive Project’s website gave the importance of the preservation movement’s history its first internet presence, and provided easy access to our many resources. Several years later the NYCT once again supported the Archive Project’s growth through the creation of the “Preservation History Database.” Hosted on the website, the encyclopedia-like catalog of topics in preservation history is used to further educate the public. With these resources, alongside our online oral history collection, which makes interview transcripts and audio available online, the Archive Project’s website became the go-to source for information on preservation history.
It was in 2003 that the Archive Project became a staffed organization, albeit part time. It was not until 2013 that the organization acquired the funding to hire its first full-time executive director. Therefore, during its first decade the Archive Project could not have done its work without volunteers, interns, and its devoted board of directors, who contributed their unique expertise and knowledge of the preservation, fundraising, archival, and programmatic fields. Many of these early directors continue their service even today; past board members include J. Winthrop Aldrich, Eric Allison, Joseph Ciccone, Margaret Ferguson, Laura Hansen, Randall Mason, Dorothy Miner, Janet Parks, Duane Watson, and Vicki Wiener.
In 2008, to celebrate the publication of Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Preserve a City’s Landmarks, a half-day symposium was hosted at the Museum of the City of New York, which was attended by over 250 people. In 2011 the Archive Project partnered with Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation and many of the City’s preservation organizations to bring you the Fitch Forum: 45 Years of Preservation Law. This symposium reflected on the law and explored the need to constantly reevaluate its effectiveness. The discussion influenced a special issue of the Widener Law Review.
The New York Preservation Archive Project was officially incorporated as a not-for-profit organization on January 28, 1998.
That June, its first meeting was held with founding directors Anthony C. Wood, Eric Allison, Vicki Weiner, and Dorothy Miner. Over the next several years the Archive Project continued to respond to the loss of the recorded history of New York’s nationally-significant historic preservation movement. With the help of a fellowship sponsored by the Kress Foundation the organization documented and assisted in the preservation of important archives, and educated the public about the existence of these papers and their incomparable value. The organization identified individuals and organizations that have made vital contributions to New York preservation’s history and attempted to secure the future of their papers through education and archival assistance. The Archive Project also continued to conduct oral histories with those who were directly involved in much of the City’s groundbreaking legislation and grassroots activism. And it sponsored public programs, exhibitions, screenings, and lectures designed to broaden awareness of the history of the New York preservation movement and emphasize the use of archives in researching topics in the field. Special research projects were also undertaken. One related to architect and urban activist Robert C. Weinberg. Another research project eventually became Anthony C. Wood’s book Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Preserve a City’s Landmarks (published in 2007).
Launched in December 2003 through a grant from the New York Community Trust (NYCT), the Archive Project’s website gave the importance of the preservation movement’s history its first internet presence, and provided easy access to our many resources. Several years later the NYCT once again supported the Archive Project’s growth through the creation of the “Preservation History Database.” Hosted on the website, the encyclopedia-like catalog of topics in preservation history is used to further educate the public. With these resources, alongside our online oral history collection, which makes interview transcripts and audio available online, the Archive Project’s website became the go-to source for information on preservation history.
It was in 2003 that the Archive Project became a staffed organization, albeit part time. It was not until 2013 that the organization acquired the funding to hire its first full-time executive director. Therefore, during its first decade the Archive Project could not have done its work without volunteers, interns, and its devoted board of directors, who contributed their unique expertise and knowledge of the preservation, fundraising, archival, and programmatic fields. Many of these early directors continue their service even today; past board members include J. Winthrop Aldrich, Eric Allison, Joseph Ciccone, Margaret Ferguson, Laura Hansen, Randall Mason, Dorothy Miner, Janet Parks, Duane Watson, and Vicki Wiener.
In 2008, to celebrate the publication of Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Preserve a City’s Landmarks, a half-day symposium was hosted at the Museum of the City of New York, which was attended by over 250 people. In 2011 the Archive Project partnered with Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation and many of the City’s preservation organizations to bring you the Fitch Forum: 45 Years of Preservation Law. This symposium reflected on the law and explored the need to constantly reevaluate its effectiveness. The discussion influenced a special issue of the Widener Law Review.
The New York Preservation Archive Project was officially incorporated as a not-for-profit organization on January 28, 1998.
That June, its first meeting was held with founding directors Anthony C. Wood, Eric Allison, Vicki Weiner, and Dorothy Miner. Over the next several years the Archive Project continued to respond to the loss of the recorded history of New York’s nationally-significant historic preservation movement. With the help of a fellowship sponsored by the Kress Foundation the organization documented and assisted in the preservation of important archives, and educated the public about the existence of these papers and their incomparable value. The organization identified individuals and organizations that have made vital contributions to New York preservation’s history and attempted to secure the future of their papers through education and archival assistance. The Archive Project also continued to conduct oral histories with those who were directly involved in much of the City’s groundbreaking legislation and grassroots activism. And it sponsored public programs, exhibitions, screenings, and lectures designed to broaden awareness of the history of the New York preservation movement and emphasize the use of archives in researching topics in the field. Special research projects were also undertaken. One related to architect and urban activist Robert C. Weinberg. Another research project eventually became Anthony C. Wood’s book Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Preserve a City’s Landmarks (published in 2007).
Launched in December 2003 through a grant from the New York Community Trust (NYCT), the Archive Project’s website gave the importance of the preservation movement’s history its first internet presence, and provided easy access to our many resources. Several years later the NYCT once again supported the Archive Project’s growth through the creation of the “Preservation History Database.” Hosted on the website, the encyclopedia-like catalog of topics in preservation history is used to further educate the public. With these resources, alongside our online oral history collection, which makes interview transcripts and audio available online, the Archive Project’s website became the go-to source for information on preservation history.
It was in 2003 that the Archive Project became a staffed organization, albeit part time. It was not until 2013 that the organization acquired the funding to hire its first full-time executive director. Therefore, during its first decade the Archive Project could not have done its work without volunteers, interns, and its devoted board of directors, who contributed their unique expertise and knowledge of the preservation, fundraising, archival, and programmatic fields. Many of these early directors continue their service even today; past board members include J. Winthrop Aldrich, Eric Allison, Joseph Ciccone, Margaret Ferguson, Laura Hansen, Randall Mason, Dorothy Miner, Janet Parks, Duane Watson, and Vicki Wiener.
In 2008, to celebrate the publication of Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Preserve a City’s Landmarks, a half-day symposium was hosted at the Museum of the City of New York, which was attended by over 250 people. In 2011 the Archive Project partnered with Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation and many of the City’s preservation organizations to bring you the Fitch Forum: 45 Years of Preservation Law. This symposium reflected on the law and explored the need to constantly reevaluate its effectiveness. The discussion influenced a special issue of the Widener Law Review.