The New York Preservation Archive Project teamed up with Carnegie Hill Neighbors to present a screening of La Vie Elegante and A Fantasy of Forgotten Corners. Award-winning producer Gordon Hyatt created these documentary films about New York City for CBS in the 1960s. La Vie Elegante highlights famed mansions (via a 1929 Duesenberg driven by a liveried chauffeur) – including the now-demolished Brokaw mansions that were pivotal in catalyzing the push to enact NYC’s landmarks law, while A Fantasy of Forgotten Corners speaks to current and future city planning. 

Following the screening, Gordon Hyatt, the producer of the documentaries, was on hand to share his experience making the films and his thoughts on the preservation movement in New York City then and since. Hyatt has a long history of involvement in preservation; along with producing several documentaries on the subject, he served as secretary of the Municipal Art Society of New York from 1973-1982 and traveled on the “Landmarks Express” train to Washington, DC in 1978 with Brendan Gill, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and over 200 protesters to support the Landmarks Law, which was being challenged at the Supreme Court. Hyatt later served on the Art Commission of the City of New York, where he initiated the restoration of the Governor’s Room in City Hall.

A free tour of The Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, where the screening is being held was conducted at 6:00 p.m. The Church resides within a beautiful building in the Expanded Carnegie Hill Historic District on the Upper East Side facing Central Park. Completed in 1929, the building features both Gothic and Art Deco influences – and has been delicately restored in an interesting manner following a 1993 fire.

The films followed beginning at 6:30 p.m.

This program was FREE and open to the public. 

This year’s People Preserving Place film festival was made possible in part by our gracious sponsors including City Winery, CTA Architects, K!ck Condiments, DZINENY and The Science of Color.  Special thanks to The Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest for hosting!

Location:
The Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest
1085 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10128
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