Mark your calendars for the 2016 Bard Birthday Breakfast Benefit, at which the New York Preservation Archive Project will present its Preservation Award to Robert A. M. Stern. In 2015 the Archive Project inaugurated our Preservation Award, bestowed upon a person whose work exemplifies the documentation, preservation, and celebration of the history of preservation in New York City. The recipient is presented with a bronze medal designed in the Beaux-Arts tradition. The first honoree was Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, the driving force behind the 50^th anniversary celebration of New York City’s Landmarks Law.

This year we celebrate Robert A. M. Stern’s important contributions to the cause of documenting preservation’s history. Stern’s monumental New York book series records and studies the evolution of New York City architecture and urbanism from 1880 to the present day. These five volumes offer an invaluable resource to those seeking to understand preservation in New York City before and after the passage of the Landmarks Law, capturing and meticulously recording decades of preservation efforts in our City. From the battle with Robert Moses over Castle Clinton to the campaign to save Two Columbus Circle, Stern has documented these stories so that readers can learn about the constant struggle in New York City to balance development with the need to preserve historic fabric. His books have helped fill a gap in the narrative of our City’s history; they have given preservationists the empowering gift of their own story.